Oyster Point Raises $93 Million to Support the Clinical Development of Novel Treatment for Dry Eye Disease
— Lead Clinical Candidate to Advance to Phase 3 Clinical
Development —
PRINCETON, N.J.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–lt;a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/dryeye?src=hash” target=”_blank”gt;#dryeyelt;/agt;–Oyster Point Pharma, Inc., a privately held clinical-stage
pharmaceutical company with an initial focus on developing novel
therapies to treat Dry Eye Disease, today announced a $93 million Series
B financing. The round was co-led by Invus Opportunities and Flying L
Partners in collaboration with Falcon Vision. Existing investors New
Enterprise Associates (NEA) and Versant Ventures, as well as new
investor Vida Ventures, participated significantly in the round.
“Our team sees immense promise in this investment given Oyster Point’s
encouraging clinical evidence, the potential market size, and the
leadership team’s extensive experience developing and commercializing
ophthalmology therapies,” said Benjamin Tsai of Invus Opportunities. “We
believe Oyster Point’s therapies will redefine the standard of care
for Dry Eye Disease, a condition that affects millions of people.”
Oyster Point will use the proceeds to support the development of its
product portfolio for Dry Eye Disease, explore new treatment areas, and
add key talent. The company’s lead product candidates, OC-01 and OC-02,
are delivered via an ocular surface-sparing nasal spray designed to
stimulate the trigeminal parasympathetic pathway to promote natural tear
film production. In Phase 2b clinical studies, patients administered
either OC-01 or OC-02 experienced rapid and significant improvements in
both the signs and symptoms of Dry Eye Disease. Both were well-tolerated
with no significant ocular adverse events or drug-related serious
adverse events.
“Having spent decades leading and investing in ophthalmology companies,
it’s exciting to see continued innovation and leadership in this space,
especially in an area of such high unmet need as Dry Eye Disease,” said
William Link, Ph.D., of Flying L Partners. “We look forward to
supporting the team at Oyster Point as they progress into Phase 3
clinical development, plan for commercialization, and advance additional
pipeline assets.”
An estimated 16 million U.S. adults have been diagnosed with Dry Eye
Disease, a multifactorial condition of the ocular surface.1,2
Loss of tear film homeostasis is a unifying characteristic for all
patients with Dry Eye Disease. 2 A healthy tear film protects
and lubricates the eyes, washes away foreign particles, contains
antimicrobials to reduce the risk of infection, and creates a smooth
surface that contributes refractive power for clear vision. Dry Eye
Disease can have a significant impact on a person’s day-to-day quality
of life, as it can cause a persistent sensation of dryness, stinging,
scratching, burning sensations, sensitivity to light, blurred vision,
and eye fatigue. Despite the high prevalence and the burden of the
disease, there remains a significant need for effective therapies.
“We are grateful to our investors for their partnership and look forward
to initiating a Phase 3 clinical development program for Dry Eye
Disease,” said Jeffrey Nau, Ph.D., M.M.S., President and CEO of Oyster
Point. “Our novel approach to empower patients with Dry Eye Disease to
stimulate their own natural tears has tremendous potential. This
financing will bring us a step closer to offering much needed relief to
patients in an area that has limited treatment options.”
About Oyster Point Pharma, Inc.
Oyster Point Pharma is a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company
leveraging neuroscience to discover, develop, and commercialize novel
therapies to treat diseases with high unmet needs. The company’s initial
focus is to develop innovative therapeutics to treat the signs and
symptoms of Dry Eye Disease by stimulating the trigeminal
parasympathetic pathway to activate the glands and cells responsible for
tear film production, known as the Lacrimal Functional Unit. Oyster
Point is leveraging a class of molecules called nicotinic acetylcholine
receptor (nAChR) agonists to bind to receptors on the trigeminal nerve,
accessible within the nose, to stimulate natural tear film production.
For more information visit oysterpointrx.com
and follow on Twitter at @OysterPointRx.
About Invus Opportunities
Invus Opportunities is a sister fund to The Invus Group, an equity
investment firm founded in 1985 with over $8 billion of evergreen
capital. Invus Opportunities is focused on partnering with
market-leading management teams and investors in private transactions
globally. With our differentiated heritage and capital base, Invus
Opportunities brings a complementary dimension to growing companies and
investor groups seeking to create lasting value. Invus Opportunities
both leads rounds of financing and co-invests in syndicated financings,
and currently manages approximately $1.5 billion.
About Falcon Vision
Falcon Vision is an ophthalmology-focused platform supported by KKR. The
platform will invest in and manage a diversified portfolio of emerging
assets across medical devices and biopharmaceuticals. Falcon Vision’s
strategy is to address the need for capital, access to executive talent,
and operational guidance to support advancement of innovative products
for under-managed ophthalmic diseases and vision preservation. Falcon
Vision will collaborate with the team at Flying L Partners to identify
and execute new opportunities.
About Flying L Partners
Flying L Partners brings together business and clinical leaders with
decades-long track records of building, leading, and funding high-impact
ophthalmic technologies. The mission is to identify promising
opportunities and accelerate value creation with strategic and
operational insights. Flying L Partners focuses on both medical device
and biopharmaceutical opportunities with differentiated clinical value
propositions, identified regulatory and reimbursement paths, and
tangible milestones to crystallize value. The team at Flying L Partners
will collaborate with Falcon Vision to identify and execute new
opportunities.
About New Enterprise Associates
New Enterprise Associates, Inc. (NEA) is a global venture capital firm
focused on helping entrepreneurs build transformational businesses
across multiple stages, sectors, and geographies. With more than $20
billion in cumulative committed capital since the firm’s first fund
closed in 1978, NEA invests in technology and healthcare companies at
all stages in a company’s lifecycle, from seed stage through IPO. The
firm’s long track record of successful investing includes more than 225
portfolio company IPOs and more than 375 acquisitions. For more
information, please visit www.nea.com.
About Versant Ventures
Versant Ventures is a leading healthcare investment firm committed to
helping exceptional entrepreneurs build the next generation of great
companies. The firm’s emphasis is on biotechnology companies that are
discovering and developing novel therapeutics. With $3 billion under
management and offices in the United States, Canada and Europe, Versant
has built a team with deep investment, operating and clinical expertise
that enables a hands-on approach to company building. Since the firm’s
founding in 1999, more than 70 Versant companies have achieved
successful acquisitions or IPOs. For more information, please visit www.versantventures.com.
About Vida Ventures
Vida Ventures is a next-generation life sciences investment firm founded
in 2017 by a group of scientists, physicians, entrepreneurs, and
investors passionate about building and funding breakthroughs in
biomedicine. Together they form an independent, bold investment group
bound together by a simple word – life. Its mission is to bring science
to life and advance transformative biomedical innovations that have the
potential to make a meaningful difference for patients. Vida has a
bicoastal presence and currently manages approximately $295 million. For
more information on Vida Ventures, please visit www.vidaventures.com,
on LinkedIn or follow on Twitter @Vida_Ventures.
Contacts
Krysta Pellegrino
650-255-6142
Krysta@healthandcommerce.com